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Sneak peek at Longhorn for those of us not at PDC

It looks as though build 4051 has been leaked onto the 'net, the very same …

This week all the cool Microsoftie kids are off at the Microsoft Professional Developers Conference (PDC). The exclusive, limited event is expected to be a watershed for information on future directions for Microsoft technologies. We tried to send somebody, but press passes are tough to come by, and we couldn't take out a second mortgage on Eric's station wagon to cover the normal fee. It's no matter, though... we found a few moles on the inside, and we'll have more for you on that front later.

But for now, indulge yourself in a few peeks at a recent Longhorn leak. C'mon, you know you want to. It looks as though build 4051 has been leaked onto the 'net, the very same build that was apparently going to be shown off to folks at the PDC. Now, you get a peek for free. WinBeta has some screens up, and it looks like the lawyers haven't crashed down upon them yet (Update: now the site isn't responding). NeoWin also has some screenshots. Of course, with the product being quite a way off, there's no reason to assume that this represents anything but a possible trajectory of the final look and feel. What you can see, though, are enhancements to Internet Explorer, including pop-up blocking and a more intelligent download manager. Still, one hopes that Microsoft wouldn't wait until 2006 to deliver such quotidian features. There's also a conspicuous lack of a formal title bar in some of the shots. Hrm.

Update: some readers have asked for more background on Longhorn's UI development. Back in April we mentioned the leakage of some Milestone 5 screenshots, most of which are still up. Previous to that were some rather early screenshots that are very "Luna" in feel. That said, some expect that these UI developments are simply for show. The real question is how does Aero, DCE, and Avalon fit into all of this. Hopefully we'll have more answers by the end of the week.

Ken Fisher
Ken is the founder & Editor-in-Chief of Ars Technica. A veteran of the IT industry and a scholar of antiquity, Ken studies the emergence of intellectual property regimes and their effects on culture and innovation. Emailken@arstechnica.com//Twitter@kenfisher